Updated July 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM EDT
The Republican-controlled Texas legislature is looking to redraw congressional maps to give the GOP an edge in next year's midterm elections — and New York Rep. Ritchie Torres says Democrats have no choice but to fight back.
"To just simply stand by passively and allow Republicans to rig the process in their favor is actually a form of complicity. It's the opposite of protecting democracy," Torres told Morning Edition.
With Texas still reeling from the deadly July 4 floods, the state legislature plans to approve a partisan redistricting of Texas' congressional map. The move is driven by President Trump's desire to win five more seats for Republicans next fall.
Some Democrats want states where their party is in control to redraw their House district lines and cancel out Texas' plans or gain their own advantage. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is one of the Democrats who's expressed this interest, and during a press conference last week he said, "I'm not going to be passive at this moment."
Torres says this scenario "underscores the need for a national system in which we take the politics out of redistricting."
"Republicans should be careful what they wish for," he said. "The Republicans in Texas have the intention of strengthening the Republican seats, but could have the effect of weakening them in a climate that is likely to be more favorable to Democrats."
NPR's Steve Inskeep and Torres further discussed the Republican Party's redistricting agenda and why he believes the Democratic Party must "counter their cheating or become complicit."
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview Highlights
Steve Inskeep: What's the basic idea you're promoting?
Rep. Ritchie Torres: Well, I would describe it not as ruthlessness, but as fairness. In an ideal world, there would only be a redistricting at the beginning of the decade at the decennial census. You know, no one in the Democratic Party wants a redistricting arms race. But if Republicans are going to rewrite the rules in the middle of the game and redraw maps in Texas, which could yield up to five seats, then we have no choice but to respond and reciprocate. To stand by passively would mean unilateral disarmament.
Inskeep: Can you do that in New York?
Torres: It's theoretically possible, but, you know, we face constraints in New York.
Inskeep: There's a constitutional provision in New York.
Torres: There's constitutional provision that might be lacking in Texas, but we have no choice but to try, because Republicans are essentially cheating or essentially rewriting the rules in the middle of the game. And either we counter their cheating or we become complicit.
Inskeep: You're saying that you would like your state's leaders even in New York, despite the constitutional provisions, to try to find some way around them and see if you can get a different electoral map.
Torres: We should attempt to redraw maps in a fair manner within the constraints of the Constitution. Yes.
Inskeep: People watching this from the outside are perhaps thinking, 'We're being manipulated here. All the same votes, and you slice us up in different ways and come up with a different result.'
Torres: Look, I think it underscores the need for a national system in which we take the politics out of redistricting. Democrats are in favor. We've passed legislation in every legislative session where we were in the majority, only to have it obstructed and opposed by the Republicans. But if one side is playing by the rules and the other side is pursuing power at all cost, that's a losing proposition for the Democratic Party. And it's a losing proposition for democracy.
Inskeep: There are a number of different purposes that you can serve with redistricting, and one of them is maximizing the number of seats your party gets. But another is incumbent protection, which, as I understand, is more common in redistricting. The party in power will protect their seats, and you have fewer and fewer seats that are truly in play anywhere in Congress. How do you think that has affected the business that the House of Representatives does that you're in?
Torres: Well, the principle that govern the original Texas redistricting was incumbency protection. And Republicans should be careful what they wish for. The Republicans in Texas have the intention of strengthening the Republican seats, but could have the effect of weakening them in a climate that is likely to be more favorable to Democrats.
Inskeep: I guess we should explain the math. Instead of X number of seats that are 60% Republican, you have more seats that are 52% Republican. So they might lose one.
Torres: And those seats could easily become more competitive, like Jared Golden in Maine, who has said, "Be careful what you wish for," because he is a Democrat who won in a Trump district.
Inskeep: What do you think about as you hear Democrats being described, even six months into the Trump presidency, as being confused, in disarray, still trying to figure out their loss in 2024, still trying to figure out a message for 2026 and beyond.
Torres: I think the Democratic Party is a work in progress. We have a message which is affordability, to focus like a laser on lowering the cost of living, which was the dominant issue in the New York City mayor's race. But look, we're facing an unprecedented challenge to our economy, our democracy, our society. I mean, Donald Trump has no regard for the rules and norms of democracy. And so there's no formula for the kind of resistance that we're mounting against Trump 2.0, which is far more vindictive, far more aggressive, far more emboldened than anything we've seen before, including Trump 1.0.
Inskeep: Do you think that there has been a problem in finding a new generation of leaders for the Democratic Party?
Torres: I think a new generation of leadership is emerging. There are younger members who are assuming committee chairmanships like Robert Garcia [D-Calif.] for Oversight or Angie Craig [D-Minn.] for Agriculture. So the new guard is rising, and we have a new generation of members of Congress who are adapting to the world of new media. You know, as Democrats, if we have confidence in our message, we have to be willing to take that message to every corner of the alternative media ecosystem. And that's something we're starting to do.
Inskeep: Is that something that Republicans did better in the last election?
Torres: I think Donald Trump is one of the masters of alternative media. And for a long time, we're playing catch up.
The digital piece was edited by Obed Manuel. The radio version of this story was edited by Ally Schweitzer and produced by Milton Guevara and Nia Dumas.
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